Haven (2)
* * * * * * * * Martin walked through the large double doors of the abandoned warehouse that had become known as the old hall. Chairs were set up in front of a high dais. He saw many vampires that he knew, most of which he hated. His only real friends in the Society of Haven were Sarah and Angelique, and they did not get along with each other as well as he did with either of them. Sarah did not understand Angelique's distaste for blood, and Angelique had bought into the popular belief that Sarah was an evil creature. Much to his surprise Martin saw Sarah sitting in the front row of the makeshift aisles, alone, of course. He walked silently up behind his solitary friend. When he was a few feet from her she said, "Hello, Martin. Please, sit down." Her voice was cold as usual, but he knew when she was being friendly. After spending enough time around her, one could begin to recognize the subtle inflections in her voice. He gladly took a seat beside her. "I am surprised to see you here." He did not expect that she would come. "Jim said that it was supposed to be urgent." She looked at Martin and smiled. "The High Ones rarely think that anything is urgent, so I thought that I would attend and see just what could be so important." Sarah had barely finished her sentence when Vannon took the stage. Lord Vannon was an incredibly huge man. His long black hair trailed behind him as he walked to the front center of the dais. He was stout and looked absolutely fearless. He was also the biggest joke in all of Haven. Whenever he took to the streets the fledglings would laugh and point as he walked by. He was born in the Carpathian mountains, and so he heard many jokes and comments pertaining to Dracula. He had often been suspected of killing fledgling vampires, but being one of the High Ones gave him a certain immunity to the Society's laws. "Children of Haven's dark streets," he began. He had always been overly dramatic. "We have heard some rumors circulating in Haven of a dark force that has returned to us. It started first in the fledgling circles. Nurslings saying that they had picked up thoughts from their masters about encounters with an unknown vampire on the streets. At first, no one paid any attention to these stories. It is well known that Haven is a city that draws the supernatural to it. He was reported and noted. Recently, though, the lycanthrope population has come to the Society and asked that we keep our children out of their territory. They said that fifty of their finest warriors had been destroyed. "Now, certainly, one to one, we could best any werewolf, but to kill fifty of their best Moon Minions would take ten of our oldest. It is just not possible that ten of the elder vampires banded together to accomplish this goal. We had no choice but to think the worst. Mobius has returned." Vannon paused while the old hall filled with shocked whispers and died back down again. "Yes, our fear is that he is here in Haven." Martin had heard stories that Mobius was supposed to be the first vampire. He was said to be like the phoenix. He could be killed only to rise again later. Apparently, he had become very bitter over the millennia. Whenever he appeared vampires began dying. He was more powerful than anything the world had ever known. Legends said that Mobius could sense when other vampires were near, and kill them with a thought. He could use powers not even known to the oldest vampires in Haven. "How do you know it was him?" Sarah stood up and shouted at Vannon. "What?" He appeared to be very shocked until he saw where the comment had come from. "How do you know it was Mobius? No one knows what Mobius looks like. The last time that he appeared he killed almost everyone that saw him, and he disappeared just as mysteriously." "At this point it is all merely speculation. It is the only explanation for the lycanthrope deaths." "What about a plot by the werewolves to give them a reason to attack us?" "They would have no reason to do such a thing." Vannon was visibly annoyed by her questions. "I imagine they might have the same reason that we did fifteen years ago when we tried to drive them out of Haven." She stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to respond. He did not. Sarah turned around to the other vampires in the hall. "That reason was simply that we did not want to share the city with them. And, why, if fifteen elder vampires could organize themselves to form the High Ones, could it not be done for the purpose of killing our enemies?" "Silence," Vannon shouted down at Sarah. "You and your words have done enough to damage our kind in the past. We do not need your interference in this matter." "Then why did you ask me to come?" Vannon glared at her like he was going to leap from the stage and attack her. The thought had probably crossed his mind, but he managed to stifle the response if it did. "We asked you here because we had hoped that you would be more helpful than usual, but it has become apparent that you will never be able to accept the responsibilities of your kind. You may leave at any time that you wish." "Oh, I wouldn't miss this." Sarah sat back down by Martin and listened. Martin looked over and saw that she had a sadistic smile on her face. Sarah had set the High Ones credibility back in the eyes of all the vampires that were not around for the war seventeen years before. Martin was still human when the wars took place, but Sarah had already told him of the vampires atrocious acts. "As I was saying Vannon continued. "The Society could be in grave danger. All that we are asking now is that you keep a close watch for this being." "What should we do if we see him," someone shouted from the back. "Report to the High Ones. By no means should you go near him. He could easily destroy any of us." * * * * * * * * Stephanie wiped the blood from her chin as she stood up over her dead victim. He had indeed been a boring young man, but he had made Stephanie realize something. Life (or unlife) was a thing that should not be wasted. You should take chances no matter the consequences for the rewards could be far greater. This man had, at on time, been full of dreams and hopes that people around him said that he would never accomplish. Over the years of his life he began to believe them, and he forgot about everything that had once been important to him. The sun would be up soon and she had to take the chance she had been avoiding for nearly two hundred years. She leaned down and licked her victim's neck. She watched with great interest as the wound immediately healed. The sky was turning a silver color when Stephanie reached her home. She found her way through the veritable mansion to the den that she referred to as the sun room. There were three huge picture-glass windows on three of the rooms walls. With trembling hands she opened all of the drapes in the room. Within minutes the sunlight would begin to pour through the windows and into the room. This was the test to see if she would become a vampire lord or a shadow. If she became a lord, she would gain more powerful abilities, not to mention respect in the Society. If she became a shadow, however, she would be a creature that lived for nothing but flesh, and it could be thousands of years before she could regain her vampire status. The sun was starting to peek up over the horizon. She could feel the warmth begin to cover her thick skin. There was a tingling in her stomach, and her head began to feel quite light. Her eyes ached as the sun moved higher in the sky. Something inside her was changing. Suddenly, there was a burning pain that started in her stomach and began to move throughout her body. Stephanie shrank to her knees and shrieked in pain. Something had gone terribly wrong, and she knew it. the pain raged insider her causing her to cry out again. The sun continued to rise as she lay in the floor and writhed in agony. Her voice radiated a mile from her home as she continued to shriek in anguish. * * * * * * * * Jenny awoke with a burning in her stomach. There would be plenty of humans on the streets this night. The skies were clear and the air was free of the smell of rain. She looked up through the sewer grate above her lair and waited for someone to come wandering by. Fear swelled in her chest. Since she had attended the meeting in the old hall the night before, she had been afraid of attacking the wrong person and becoming nothing more than a stain on the pavement. Jenny kept telling herself that she was being silly, but she could not shake the feeling that Mobius was real. There were few people in the city that knew about matters of telling between what was legend and what was truth. Stephanie would know. She was not at the meeting, so she must have already known about it. Jenny thought. She lifted the grate and climbed out into the street and looked around. Jenny crept up the alley to the street. She listened and heard footsteps coming her way. When she saw the woman move quickly passer her, she reached out and grabbed the lady by the collar. Jenny pulled her into the alley and slammed her against a wall. "What do you want?" the woman whispered, breathless. "I want what everyone wants." Jenny looked at the lady sternly as if expecting her to ask something. Of course, she was. "What's that?" "I want to be happy. And you, my friend, are about to make me much happier than I am." Jenny tore into the woman's throat and drank the flow that ran from it. * * * * * * * * The doors of Stephanie's house were unlocked as usual. Jenny turned the knob and entered the kitchen of the huge home. She had been here before and she could never understand why Stephanie kept it stocked with food. The cabinets and refrigerator were filled with all of the necessities that a human would need. She moved through the house into the many catacomb-like rooms. She did not see Stephanie anywhere. Jenny sat down on the edge of the sofa of Stephanie's den. She was not hungry, but she dearly wanted to feed. She was aware of her problem, and she did not care that every vampire in Haven expected it to destroy her. She knew better. Jenny was much too clever to be killed by her own yearnings. Jenny's thoughts were interrupted by a strange sound behind a door on the opposite side of the room. It was like a muffled sob. She stood up slowly and tried to stretch her mind to the other side of the door. She could feel something there, but she could not tell what it was. It was not the chaotic mind of a human, or the frenzied, bloodthirsty thoughts of a vampire that came from the other side of that door that now made Jenny more than a little anxious. This was something altogether different, but it was vastly intelligent. Jenny was stricken with fear. That could be Mobius behind that door. She moved slowly toward the gargantuan oak door. With a shaky hand Jenny pushed the door slightly ajar. Her stomach was like a rock as she looked through the small opening. There was a dark figure huddled in the corner. This was not Mobius. "Hello?" Jenny hoped that whatever this was could communicate. She was answered by a childlike whisper. She was no longer afraid, but she was intensely curious. She opened the door the rest of the way. "Are you all right?" The thing tried to shuffle farther back into the corner, but found that it could not. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." Jenny had no intention of killing this creature. She only hoped that she would not have to go back on her word. The thing stood up showing that it was as tall as Jenny. She had at first thought that it was shorter than herself. It walked closer to Jenny until she could see its face. She gasped. It was Stephanie. Her hair was seared down with a few inches of her scalp. Stephanie's skin had been blackened and burned in places. "What are you doing here?" Her tone was not a friendly one. "Did you come to tell me what I missed at the meeting?" Jenny remained silent. She knew that Stephanie was mocking the High Ones' arrogance and fear "It is no longer a concern of mine. I do not belong in the Society any longer, and you do not belong here. Now, go." She pointed a scorched finger at the door behind Jenny. Jenny did not know why, but she did want to leave. Not only did she want to leave, but she wanted to run as far away as she could and never come back. Despite her fear, Jenny could not help but reach out and touch this creature that had just yesterday been like herself. Her fingertips brushed against Stephanie's cheek. At the moment she touched the cold flesh, icy spasms of fear shook her bowels. This feeling threw her into a confusion at first. It had been centuries since anything had incited this kind of emotion. "What is going on?" Jenny asked in a hushed whisper that no one could have heard but another of her kind. "Your instincts are kicking in. Something inside you knows that you should stay away from those of my kind." "What has happened to you?" "Think about it Jenny. Look at me. Can't you see what has happened." At once Jenny understood what had happened to Stephanie. She had been condemned to the life of a shadow. She would have to live by eating flesh instead of blood, and to regain her original power she would have to drink the blood of a thousand vampires. Jenny turned and ran. Through the house she was nothing more than a blur to the human eye. She heard the cracking of door frames as she burst through the doors without opening them. Through the streets she ran until she was safe in her lair. In the dim light of her sewer home, Jenny realized that it was two hours until dawn and she had fed but once. Her stomach burned with fierce hunger, but she would not dare to set foot on the streets tonight. Her fear consumed her, reducing this once mighty creature to a huddled figure in a dark corner. * * * * * * * * Angelique strode quickly toward the old hall. The sky was already turning pink, and she had not found Martin. He must have been with Sarah. Sarah made it a habit to keep herself out of the eyes of other members of the Society. The two women held no love for each other, but each of them respected the other's link to Martin. Angelique could not ask him to leave his master, and Sarah certainly could not keep him from making friends. The streets were free of all noise except for the very faint shuffling of Angelique's feet. She had never mastered the art of walking with complete silence. She had always thought that this was a useless gift for vampires to learn if they had to move about like humans most of the time. It was an especially useless gift when they did not hunt. She wrapped her cloak tighter about herself, and tried to breathe out a breath of warm air. This, too, was a feat that she was incapable of. It was also something that she missed from her human life. The sight of her own steamy breath in the night, being ignorant of the subtle nuances of sound, and even the feeling of growing old were all taken for granted in life, but now sorely missed in undeath. The old hall was in sight when she felt something like a ghostly hand brush against her hair. She turned full circle only to find absolutely nothing there. She crouched down. this was an instinct that sometimes amused her after it happened. It was the sheer animalistic nature of the action that she found so funny, but it served its purpose in frightening those that may have had thoughts of violating her. There was a pain in the back of her head suddenly. She was off her feet before she realized that someone had taken a grip on her hair and pulled her up from the ground. There was a hand clasped on her shoulder. Angelique was shocked simply by the strength that radiated from the grip. It was like she was in a daze as she felt herself being turned around. The face that she saw was just as surprising as everything else that had happened up to that point. The man loomed at least two and a half feet over her. His head was maned with long onyx hair. It was the face, though, that caught her attention first. He was a stern looking man with brown eyes deep enough to be pools of liquid. His skin was smooth and free of any kind of blemish, but it radiated an aura of immense age. All of these things appealed to Angelique, but they were not the things that surprised her. It was how he was looking down at her as if he were completely amazed. "Daughter, why have you no power in your age?" "Why do you call me daughter?" Angelique was completely taken aback by this man. "I call you daughter, for I am the father of all. Now tell me, how comes it that you are a woman of the centuries with the might of a nursling?" The man looked down at her and awaited her answer. "I no longer drink. I gave it up." She felt a little silly telling him this like someone that had fallen off a very strange wagon. "Perhaps," he said slowly, "You are the safest one of your kind." There was a blur that hurt Angelique's eyes, and the stranger was gone. Her heart felt cold, and the dawn was beginning to show itself more definitely. She ran with a fear that she thought she had forgotten how to feel. The High Ones had been keeping a close watch for Mobius, and Angelique was pretty sure that she had just had the first encounter with him. The High Ones would be most interested. * * * * * * * * Jim awoke to the darkness of his coffin. He felt the stale air of his own dead breath surrounding him. With a tired arm, Jim lifted the lid of his sarcophagus. Something was very wrong with his home. The oppressive magical aura that usually hung heavy in the air was gone. Jim leapt from his coffin and looked around. Jim's brand of magic was easy to identify to the eye of a magician, but there was nothing there except for the faint glow of expired enchantment. Every magical trap that had been set in his home had been disarmed. He did not understand what had happened. His spells could not have faded since he had only just set them before dawn. It would have had to have been a master magician that had invaded and disarmed his magical defenses. None of the vampires in Haven were capable of this. He did not know how many magicians there were among the lycanthropes, but even they would have missed a few of Jim's more secret alarms. Suddenly Jim was very uneasy. * * * * * * * * Martin waited, crouched in the shadows, for his prey. The man across the street was waiting for someone as well, Martin planned to give the man just a few more minutes before he attacked. The man was nearly twice his size, so Martin thought that it would be an evenly matched confrontation. He did not enjoy preying on those that did not have a fighting chance. The man looked nervous, but Martin did not try to read his thoughts. He could only read surface thoughts, and usually when he did, he found that he liked the person too much to kill them. This man, though, he knew nothing about, and he had no problem thinking of him as nothing but food. He was about to make himself visible when he heard footsteps rounding the corner of the building where the man was standing. Martin hissed silently. The other person was a woman. She walked by the man and with a gesture that would have appeared like only a muscle tic to the human eye, she slipped a vial into his pocket. After the woman was out of sight, the man rushed across the street into the alley in which Martin was crouched. This victim stood only about two feet away from martin without realizing that his killer-to-be was just beside him. The man stuffed a meaty hand into his pocket and retrieved the vial along with a rubber tourniquet. Martin made use of his preternatural sight and saw that the label on the vial read: MORPHINE. Martin could not allow his food to spoil, so he stood up and took a step forward into the light, making himself visible. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that." The man turned slowly toward him. His face grew stern when he saw Martin standing there. "Why," he asked gutturally, "you a cop?"
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